DealBook Online

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED, KEVIN ROOSE AND EVELYN M. RUSLI

Published: July 29, 2011

STANDING FIRM Transatlantic Holdings rejected a $3.2 billion hostile bid by Validus Holdings and took up a number of defenses, including suing Validus and instituting a poison pill.

Transatlantic said that it remained committed to its own planned merger with another insurer, Allied World Assurance, which it asserted would create more long-term value for shareholders. Edward J. Noonan, above, Validus's chief executive, maintained that it had a financially superior offer and accused Transatlantic's board of entrenching itself instead of negotiating. MICHAEL J. de la MERCED

THWARTED Goldman Sachs and Citigroup shelved plans for a large commercial mortgage bond sale on Wednesday night, after Standard & Poor's told them it would not rate the sale, the banks said in a joint statement.

The planned offering, for a group of mortgage-backed bonds valued at $1.5 billion, had been expected to close on Thursday. The deal had already been priced, and investors had already laid claim to the bonds, when S.& P. announced that it was re-examining its criteria for evaluating certain types of ''conduit'' securities, or ones with multiple borrowers. That meant the Goldman/Citigroup joint bond package, called GC4, would no longer be rated as planned. KEVIN ROOSE

RESCUE Wilbur Ross is not afraid of a debt crisis.

As an investor in distressed assets, Mr. Ross, left, has put, along with Fairfax Financial Holdings, Capital Research, Fidelity Investments and Kennedy Wilson, 1.12 billion euros ($1.6 billion) into the troubled Bank of Ireland. With the deal, the group will own 34.9 percent of the bank.

STRONG START A day after the stellar debut of Dunkin' Brands, the specialty tea retailer Teavana rose 63.5 percent on Thursday on its first day of trading. Shares of Teavana, priced at $17, opened at $28.95 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock rose as high as $29.35, before settling at $27.80. EVELYN M. RUSLI